"Our team culture has truly been reshaped and remolded with Jerry''s Buddha wisdom and guidance. We all feel honored to have had him work so closely with our team here at Boston University Women''s Field Hockey. Our personal growth as coaches from his work will continue to benefit the program going forward. We have really enjoyed working with Jerry and his unusual Buddhist sports approach to leadership and performance." --Sally Starr, head coach of BU Women''s Field Hockey and winner of sixteen conference championships "Many people don''t, but I love pineapple on pizza. So often it is when apparently different ideas bump together that new insights emerge. Jerry Lynch''s The Competitive Buddha does not disappoint in this regard. The Buddha and sports?! Well, it turns out that some of the biggest insights in sport psychology--the ideas and techniques that elite athletes routinely use to approach their peak performances--are Buddhist to their core.
The Competitive Buddha is a worthy contributor to this literature. And, as a bonus, adopting the ideas in this book will help coaches and athletes ''win'' more, in the broadest sense of word." --Jim Thompson, Positive Coaching Alliance founder and author of Elevating Your Game: Becoming a Triple-Impact Competitor "If you''re looking to live with deep inner peace--and at the same time--perform toward the upper reaches of your potential in highly stressful and competitive environments, this book is written for you by a man who is considered by many to be an authority on the confluence of ancient philosophy, psychology, and sports." --Michael Gervais, PhD, high performance psychologist and host of the nationally acclaimed podcast Finding Mastery " The Competitive Buddha affirms there is no path to mastery because mastery is the path, the path of the Warrior Mystic. Such a Warrior is one who is fiercely committed to competing at the highest level and at the same time doing so in Love, Joy, Connection, Compassion, Collaboration, and Cooperation (the four Cs). Jerry is a warrior mystic, a competitive buddha, and a kindred spirit committed to service, helping others to reach their full human potential. --George Mumford, athlete, Zen-Buddhist teacher and author of The Mindful Athlete "In sports, we are often led to believe that competitiveness and joy cannot coexist. We are told that it is impossible to build a selfless team in a world of self-centeredness.
We are told that love and compassion have no place in the cutthroat world of youth, college, and professional sports. We have been misled. In The Competitive Buddha , my great friend and mentor Dr. Jerry Lynch teaches us how the ideals of the Buddha--joy, compassion, selflessness, connection, and patience--bring balance to sport, and will help you unleash the greatest version of yourself. It is a MUST read for all my teams." --John O''Sullivan, author of Every Moment Matters and founder of Changing the Game Project "Jerry Lynch is a great teacher of Mastery, expressed masterfully in this brilliant book. He shows how so many Buddhist values are critical to success in sports and life: Mindfulness and Presence, Selflessness and Patience, Gratitude and Compassion, Respect and Humility, and more. This book will rouse The Joy of Competition, teach you that The Path is the Goal, and inspire you to Never Give Up!" --Dr.
Joseph Parent, Buddhist teacher and author of Zen Golf "What an incredible, must-read book from one of the best in the business of performance and leadership. The lessons, principles, and strategies that you will learn in this book from this master teacher are the same that Jerry used to help my University of Maryland Lacrosse team to win seven consecutive national championships. The Competitive Buddha is a book that will fill your craving for connection, caring, compassion, cooperation, and collaboration not just in the locker room but in the boardroom as well. Brilliant stuff!!!" --Cindy Timchal, Division I head lacrosse coach at the Naval Academy "I count Jerry as a friend who has given me much encouragement. He has made a difference by helping me to lead, coach, inspire, and empower my athletes to reaching their potential. This is a good time to have this book, The Competitive Buddha." --Phil Jackson, head coach of NBA Championship Bulls and Lakers and author of Eleven Rings "Jerry Lynch is one of the few people who knows that the Buddha was the first student-athlete, excelling both in the classroom (where he mastered sixty-four scripts) and outside, where he bested his opponents in archery, weight-lifting, and wrestling. In The Competitive Buddha , Jerry brings the insights of the Buddhist tradition back to the playing field, where they began so long ago.
" --Donald Lopez, PhD, professor of Buddhist Studies and author of Buddha Takes the Mound "I was a philosophy major and an elite soccer athlete in college. It was always a challenge to understand how these two disciplines could converge. What I love about Jerry''s work is how he effortlessly helps us to experience the relevancy of Buddhism to sports. In The Competitive Buddha he imparts an abundance of time-honored, sacred wisdom and makes it easily accessible for immediate use for both my athletes and my coaching and leadership. Jerry is a wise and trusted friend who has a very positive effect on me and my program at UNC." --Anson Dorrance, head coach women''s soccer with twenty-two national championships at the University North Carolina "I have known Jerry for over twenty years; we worked together at Duke and culminating now as head coach of the Utah Jazz. He has been a friend, a confidant, and a profound mentor with enormous influence on my leadership and coaching skill set over the years. Jerry''s unique and innovative approach to athletics and life is unparalleled.
His latest book, The Competitive Buddha , is arguably his best work of his forty-year career, and it will inspire you as it has me to continue your journey to be the best you can be in all aspects of sports and life. This is a remarkable book." --Quin Snyder, head coach of the NBA Utah Jazz "I think this is Jerry''s best book yet, a book that jibes perfectly with my vision for the warriors." --Steve Kerr, head coach of the NBA Golden State Warriors "I have been coaching golf for over thirty years, training some of the top golfers in the world including Patrick Reed, the 2018 PGA Masters Champion. To achieve this level in my work, I have leaned heavily on Jerry''s books, especially his latest, The Competitive Buddha . This book contains all of the profound and pertinent wisdom that he has passed on to me, lessons I use daily with my athletes and myself. Jerry''s teachings in The Competitive Buddha have altered how I perceive the world." --Kevin Kirk, 2019 PGA Coach of the Year and director of Golf Instruction at The Woodlands "I have had the pleasure of knowing Jerry Lynch for over two decades now, have read all of his books, and have worked with him personally on my mental game of competition.
He is amazing, and his books and counseling have not only helped me, but I have shared his principles with so many others. Jerry has a brilliant knack for relating the basic principles of Taoist and Buddhist thought to his success in coaching in a joyful, understandable way in his conference and books. His latest book, The Competitive Buddha , may be the best yet!" --Barry Siff, ultra endurance athlete, coach, event organizer, author, Olympic sports leader over four decades who served as the president of USA Triathlon, the CEO of USA Team Handball, and an advisor to USA Boxing "My work with Jerry Lynch over the last eighteen years has transformed my competitive kayaking career as well as my life outside of sport. Not only has Jerry helped me achieve higher levels of competitive athletics, he has also empowered and inspired me as a doctor to use the lessons from sport to help heal the patients in my Uganda medical clinic. In his latest book, The Competitive Buddha , Jerry offers this same essential wisdom and guidance he has taught me over the years to help me up my game and be the best version of myself and have fun doing it. This book is a game changer for anyone and everyone! I use its messages and lessons all the time." --Jessie Stone, MD, CEO of Stone Medical Clinic in Uganda, five-time USA Women''s freestyle kayak National Team member, and USA Women''s Freestyle Kayak National Champion in 2020 "Dr. Lynch is very insightful and caring.
His lessons are powerful and invaluable. You will definitely take away many gems from this book that will assist in your coaching and athletic goals." --Mike Hawkes, director of athletics at Shining Mountain High School, Boulder,Colorado "I have been fortunate to achieve success at the highest levels in the sport of women''s lacrosse and I consider Jerry Lynch''s teachings a huge part of that success. From being recognized with All-American honors at the University of North Carolina to being a three-time gold medalist on the National Team, Jerry made an incredible impact on me as a player. As a coach at Delaware, Stanford, Ohio State, and currently at Johns Hopkins University, my approach to coaching lacrosse is directly influenced by Jerry''s teachings and his work. This book, The Competitive Buddha will give insight into these teachings and how they have not only been applied by Jerry into the sports world, but how they are transferable to any line of work. The culture developed through his work has helped teams that I personally have bee.